October Sales: Volume Strengthens

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The Westmount real estate market has been extremely active this fall, with local agents announcing an even dozen sales in October, all but one at less than $3 million and with an average just over $2 million, but suggesting a value for the “typical” Westmount house up slightly from September. Six more sales were added to the September list, increasing that month’s residential sales to 16, and one more was added to August, bringing that month’s total to 12. That brings the three-month total to 40 as compared to only 18 in the same three months last year and 22 in 2022; in fact, the 111 sales posted through October this year almost matches the entire tally for both 2022 and 2023 (114 each).

On the other hand, the only price in October above $3 million was the $5 million paid out for a house in mid-Westmount evaluated by the city at over $6 million, and the 17.4 percent mark-down, the lowest of the month, was a house “in need of renovation,” according to the agent. The lowest price for October was $1,280,000, with almost as big a mark-down. The two were among five which sold below their tax value; the highest of seven mark-ups was 20.5 percent.

With the sixteen sales posted by agents as having been agreed to in September, the top price was $5,400,000, though that one came in just under its valuation, one of three mark-downs that month, all single-digit figures, and the highest mark-up came in at 37.2 percent.

Only two condominium sales were posted as having been agreed to in October, one for $765,000 and the other exactly $1,000,000, both very close to their tax values. The third-quarter sales, that is July, August and September, counted nine transactions in a range from $545,000 to $2,700,000, with some fairly strong mark-ups and only one mark-down, so an average 16.8 percent price:valuation ratio.

Also sold in October were two co-op apartments at 2 and 3 Westmount Square, a commercial property on Victoria Ave., a multi-use property on Prince Albert Ave., and one of the stores at 4055 St. Catherine St., in the basement of 1 Wood Ave. but with a separate entrance to a large lobby and numerous storefronts.

The adjacent-Westmount market was also busy in October, with four more sales in the Côte des Neiges district south of Queen Mary Rd., two in Notre Dame de Gråce east of Décarie Blvd., and two houses in the downtown “Golden Square Mile” district, though none in the Trafalgar-Daulac area just east of Westmount, except for a condominium-townhouse at the corner of The Boulevard and Côte des Neiges Rd. The two sales in NDG showed serious mark-downs from valuation; we would suggest this is more a problem of overvaluation than of poorly-priced properties.

The number of Westmount houses on the market in mid-November has dropped significantly, as we approach the normally-slow holiday season, down 16 in the past month, which basically says no new houses came on the market where sales brought others off. The prices are fairly even between those in the $1-$2 million group (28), $2-$3 million group (29) and $3-$4 million group (21), with another 36 houses asking more than $4 million. Three houses are listed under $1 million, with the lowest-priced house actually dropping its asking price last month, to $799,000.

Posted by andy October 2024

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